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Chinese Investor Group Buys SciClone

Chinese Investor Group Buys SciClone

The Pharmaceutical sector has been relatively slow on the M&A front this year.  U.S. investors seem content to sit on the sidelines and wait for something to happen, such as the rumored takeover of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) by Pfizer.  (NYSE: PFE) Only 43 deals have been announced through June 9, down nearly 47% compared with the same time last year. Then the Chinese investors arrived. On June 8th, 2017, SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: SCLN), a specialty pharmaceutical company that provides therapies for oncology, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disorders, was purchased in a going-private transaction by a consortium of buyers. The... Read More »
Investors Want Health Care Services with No Strings Attached

Investors Want Health Care Services with No Strings Attached

Preliminary data for the month of May shows an encouraging uptick in deal volume, with the services sectors making up 66% of the total. Some 134 transactions were announced last month, a 30% increase over April’s anemic 103 deal volume total. But monthly transaction totals in 2017 are not keeping pace with those in 2016. A year ago, 151 transactions were announced, 11% higher than in May 2017. There’s no question that the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the American Health Care Act hangs heavily on healthcare investors. The Senate Republicans have been at work behind closed doors to craft a different deal than the one sent to them by the House Republicans in mid-May. From the handful of... Read More »

PE Firms Team Up to Buy CROs

The contract research organization (CRO) industry continues to consolidate at a rapid pace in response to growing demand from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. But pharma and biotech serve as the customers in this industry, not the acquirers. Nearly all the buyers in 2017 are other CRO companies that are seeking scale. Private equity is also joining the party, accounting for the remaining portion of deals, including the largest disclosed deal this year. Last month, INC Research Holdings (NASDAQ: INCR) paid $4.6 billion for inVentiv Health, a CRO that also counts Advent International and Thomas H. Lee Partners as equal equity holders. The firms will retain their stakes following... Read More »
Tenet Healthcare Sheds its Health Plan Business

Tenet Healthcare Sheds its Health Plan Business

A recent Managed Care deal may portend more troubling news for the struggling industry. Lately, mergers and acquisitions in the sector have been driven by firms exiting the market due to rising costs. Even a network as large as Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) cited rising costs and unanticipated losses as reasons for shedding its Health Plan Business. On June 1, 2017, Tenet Healthcare Corporation announced it was selling the Medicare Advantage and commercial group membership assets of its subsidiary, Allegian Health Plan, to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. The transaction includes nearly 20,000 members, enrolled through small, medium... Read More »

Digital Health Data Draws Big Money

Mergers and acquisitions in the eHealth sector are surging, and data is driving some of the biggest deals in health care. Deal volume in the digital health space went from 68 transactions in 2013 to 157 announced in 2016, a 131% increase. Transaction levels remained in the double-digits from 2000 until 2012, when 103 digital deals were recorded. Since 2014, when annual deal volume reached triple-digits, M&A has grown almost exponentially. Dollar volume shot up as well, growing from annual totals in the hundreds of millions early in the century to seven-figure totals beginning in 2005. The $11.5 billion total logged in 2009 was something of a milestone. The $20.2 billion total posted in... Read More »

Aziyo Biologics Buys CorMatrix Assets

Aziyo Biologics, Inc. is finally gaining some traction. The company was formed in November 2015 by HighCape Partners, a growth equity fund focused on commercial-stage life sciences companies. Deerfield Management Co. joined HighCape in providing capital for the transaction. Aziyo develops customized tissue products for use in orthopedic, spinal, sports medicine, and dermal applications. On May 31, 2017, the company announced the completion of an asset purchase agreement with CorMatrix® Cardiovascular, Inc. for the purchase of all CorMatrix commercial assets and related intellectual property. CorMatrix develops biomaterial devices that harness the body’s own innate... Read More »

Bioverativ Starts Making Deals

In February, Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ: BIIB) completed the previously announced spin-off of its global hemophilia business. The new company, known as Bioverativ (NASDAQ: BIVV), is an independent, publicly traded global biotechnology company focused on hemophilia and other rare blood disorders. Bioverativ went on to announce the largest biotech deal of May 2017. On May 22, it acquired privately held True North Therapeutics for an upfront payment of $400 million plus assumed cash. True North investors are eligible to receive additional payments of up to $425 million contingent on the achievement of future development, regulatory and sales milestones of its lead product. Based in... Read More »

More Big Deals for Doc Groups

The Physician Medical Group sector started off the year strong and hasn’t lost any momentum as physician groups continue seeking scale to survive. As of May 26, 2017, 77 deals have been announced. The largest disclosed deal was Optum’s (NYSE: UNH) $3.3 billion acquisition of Surgical Care Affiliates, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCAI) in January. In May, the second largest deal of the year was announced. The acquirer, Surgery Partners (NASDAQ: SGRY), operates surgical facilities in the United States. Its target is National Surgical Healthcare,  a portfolio company of Irving Place Capital, for $760 million. National Surgical Healthcare owns and operates 21 surgical facilities in partnership with local... Read More »